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Police teams work together to tackle drug-related crime in Hastings and Rother

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Tackling drug-related crime remains a priority for police in Hastings and Rother.

The important role Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) have to play in this work was highlighted when a quantity of cocaine and cannabis was seized from a car on the A21 earlier this month.

PCSO Sarah Hunt, working in her assigned geographical area of Bexhill, noticed a pattern of vehicles attending the town and began gathering intelligence from the local community and from police systems.

The information she collated over a period of time was enough to give police reason to stop a vehicle suspected of being involved in county lines drug dealing.

A quantity of cocaine and cannabis was found inside the car, and two men were subsequently arrested.

Chief Inspector Sarah Godley, district commander for Hastings and Rother, said: "This case is just one of many that highlights the valuable contribution our PCSOs make to tackling drug-related crime in our district.

"Having PCSOs based in a certain geographical area has multiple benefits. It means they can build a strong and trusting relationship with the local community, which in turn can lead to the passing of information from the public to the police.

"This then helps us build a picture of what is going on in a certain area, taking action where we can and addressing the concerns of those who live there.

"It also allows PCSOs to become very familiar with an area, which means they are more likely to notice unusual activity linked to any criminal behaviour.

"In this case, PCSO Hunt's community engagement, investigative work and own intuition helped us disrupt the supply of dangerous drugs into our district."

Prevention Inspector Jonathan Hartley added: "This case is a fantastic example of police teams working together to achieve a good result, from PCSO Hunt's work on the ground gathering the intelligence, to the joint working from our prevention team and roads policing unit to trace the vehicle and bring it to a safe stop."